Detroit Lions Don't Have Many Players To Praise This Season, But The Future Is Bright
By Danny Cox
The 2015 NFL season is only halfway over, but it's already turning into another bad one for the Detroit Lions as they sit at 1-7 and essentially out of the playoff race already. It's time for the Lions to start seeing what the future may hold for them in the younger players on the roster, and see which veterans are losing a step or two.
Rising: Ezekiel Ansah, DE
The third-year defensive end is truly turning into a star player for the Lions and he's showing it this season. Ansah has become the leader of the defense, especially with DeAndre Levy out this season due to a hip injury. Through eight games, Ansah already has seven sacks to lead the Lions, and that's just one-half less than he got in all of 2014. In his rookie season of 2013, he had eight total.
Just to show you how far ahead he is on his teammates, the closest in sack total is Jason Jones and Devin Taylor who have 2.5 each.
Rising: Zach Zenner, RB
He played in just three games during his rookie season before being hospitalized for a partially collapsed lung and five fractures on four cracked ribs. Unfortunately, his first season ended just as he was beginning to get more playing time and he was actually starting to look like the most promising option as well.
Zenner finished the season with 60 yards on 17 carries and two receptions for 11 yards, but his future looks like it will be a good one and positive for the Lions.
Falling: Ameer Abdullah/Joique Bell, RB
The main reason that Zach Zenner was looking like such a good option is the lack of productivity from the other backs. Joique Bell came in as the starter but has missed a number of games due to injury. Still, he hasn't been able to do much when he has been on the field as he's accumulated just 99 yards on 30 carries.
Ameer Abdullah is another rookie running back who the Lions had a lot of hope in, but he's only been able to rack up 226 yards on 63 carries and one touchdown. Another big problem is his ability to hold onto the ball as he's fumbled three times already.
Falling: DeAndre Levy, LB
Before the season started, Levy signed a four-year contract extension worth over $30 million and everyone was expecting him to be the defensive leader for the team. Unfortunately, he suffered a hip injury in late August that had him miss the second half of the preseason and he only appeared in one game this season before surgery ended it for him.
The hope was that he could have healed up enough to come back at some point, but it will be next season before he's on the field again.
Falling: Matthew Stafford, QB
Rumors have started swirling that the Lions may look to part ways with Matthew Stafford after the season is over, and the new team president and general manager will be in place before that is decided. It's very possible Detroit could look to the draft for a younger and cheaper option at quarterback which means his time as a Lion may be over come the end of this year.
To put things into perspective, Stafford has 13 touchdown passes to go along with 11 interceptions and he's been sacked 22 times. He's also been benched in favor of Dav Orlovsky at one point, but there was said to be nothing serious behind that coaching move.
Coming out of the bye week, the Detroit Lions already will have new front office personnel and there will likely be a lot more changes coming during this season or as soon as it's over. Some of the young talent gives a promising look for the future, but it may be time to start looking at getting what can be gotten for some of the veteran players on the team.
Danny Cox knows a little something about the NFL, whether it means letting you know what penalty will come from the flag just thrown on the field or quickly spouting off who the Chicago Bears drafted in the first round of the 1987 draft (Jim Harbaugh). He plans on bringing you the best news, previews, recaps, and anything else that may come along with the exciting world of the National Football League. Danny is a freelance writer covering all things NFL. His work can be found on Examiner.com.